In mobile communications networks, the term Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is commonly used to describe a new approach for transmitting messages having multimedia content, where MMS allows messaging between different mobile users and/or between mobile users and the Internet (such as using email or according to the wireless application protocol (WAP)). To the end user, MMS is very similar to the Short Messaging Service (SMS) in that it provides automatic and immediate delivery of user-created content. In addition to the content type used for SMS text, however, MMS messages can contain other types of content, such as graphic images, voice or audio clips, synthetic audio, video clips, and/or presentation information.
The features of MMS have been described by standards developed in the WAP forum and the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), both which describe implementation of MMS in similar manners. In the WAP system, MMS is defined in the standard specifications WAP-206-MMSMessagingService and WAP-209-MMSEncapsulation. In the 3GPP system, the solution for providing an MMS in 3rd Generation mobile communication networks and its features are described in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.140, V.5.4.0 “Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Functional Description, Stage 2 (Release 5, 2002-09).”
Typically, multimedia messages are constructed in such a way that the media content, information necessary to describe the media content and addressing information, identifying the intended receiver of the message, are encapsulated together. The multimedia message is then sent from a sending MMS user agent to a Multimedia Messaging Service Center (MMSC), which in turn notifies the intended receiver (recipient MMS user agent) about the message. Later on, the media content within the multimedia message is delivered to, or otherwise downloaded by, the recipient MMS user agent, which can thereafter store and/or view the delivered media content.
Whereas conventional techniques for delivering media content are adequate, such techniques have a drawback in that they are limited in the amount of available control over the delivery of the media content. According to conventional delivery techniques, control over the delivery of the media content is typically limited to the recipient's device capabilities for receiving media content, the recipient's subscription details, and the recipient's preferences with respect to unwanted senders of media content. For example, delivery of media content can be limited in that media content including video objects is not typically delivered to recipients who do not have the capability to view such objects. Also, for example, delivery of media content can be limited to those recipients who subscribe to a service that permits delivery of multimedia content, as such may require a more costly premium-type of service. Further, recipients can typically limit delivery of media content by preventing receipt of media content from specified sending entities.
These limited number of techniques available for controlling the delivery of media content, however, do not suffice to provide for increased customization and optimization of content delivery, and creation of advanced services over MMS. In this regard, only a portion of the aforementioned techniques allow recipients very limited control over the type or size of delivered content, and none of the aforementioned techniques allow recipients to choose the network of which the content is delivered. Similarly, none of the aforementioned techniques allow a sending entity much, if any, control over delivery of the media content. In addition, there aren't any hooks to tailor content delivery according to state of the network such as congestion. Further, even among the conventional techniques, it would be advantageous to have even more robust forms of control, especially for multimedia messages that may take a while to download and which senders and/or recipients might therefore want to be careful about transmitting and/or receiving, respectively, if the only available channel is an expensive one.